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Forte was also reported to be drawing interest from the Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins.
The Bears let the 30-year-old Forte walk, though as Profootballtalk.com notes, his numbers last year didn’t indicate a precipitous drop-off.
Although he missed three games with an MCL sprain in second half of last season, Forte had 898 yards rushing and 389 yards receiving and seven total touchdowns last year. Prior to the injury, the workhorse had accounted for 32 percent of the Bears' 2015 offense.
Beyond that, Forte has been among the most productive backs in the league since his arrival in 2008. In fact, no player has tallied more yards from scrimmage than Forte's 12,718. LaDainian Tomlinson, Ricky Watters and Hall of Famers Curtis Martin and Barry Sanders are the only other players to total at least 1,200 yards from scrimmage in each of their first eight seasons.
We saw what offensive coordinator Chan Gailey can do with a receiving back last year; Powell was extremely effective in that role when healthy. The coach will certainly know what to do with Forte.
Indeed, as one of the most productive dual-threat backfield weapons of the past decade, Forte will essentially act as the No. 3 option in an aerial attack that lacks a proven pass-catching tight end.